Walking the fields on a wet afternoon

The picture was taken in the Doe Lea valley below Palterton. It was most definitely a route using proper rights of way. Today marked the anniversary of the famous mass trespass on Kinder Scout which is heralded as leading to progress in rights of access to moorland for walkers.

Now I am not one for mass protest or for breaking the law. However, I wonder how I might have reacted to the protests all those years ago - it certainly strikes me as a cause for which I would have had great sympathy. Maybe I would have even been among the protesters? Anyway, today it was necessary to get out for a walk whatever the weather to acknowledge the progress that has been made. In general the footpaths are good and plentiful, although still lacking in many parts of the country. There are now numerous open access areas, a recent development which is another great step forward. I still feel however that access to our wonderful countryside is still not really what it should be. All the evidence shows that if paths are marked and maintained, people do not stray or despoil things to the extent that landowners and farmers fear.

I hugely appreciate access to the countryside, and am concerned that rights of way that have been used over many generations may be lost because of legislation, if they are not proved to be in regular use.

It was good to be out, and to remind myself that travelling on foot is by far the best way to appreciate the landscape, and that experiencing the weather directly rather than being sheltered in a mobile box is not nearly as bad as most people seem to make out.